Embrace Progress, Not Perfection: Your Empowering Path to Success on Your WLS Journey

Do you ever take an 'all-or-nothing' approach to your WLS journey, where you don’t allow yourself any mistakes, slip-ups, or anything less than perfect? 

When you do slip-up, do you feel like you've sabotaged 'everything' and this then leads you into a spiral of old, unresourceful behaviours?

You certainly wouldn’t be alone to feel like this, and it can be really common after WLS. Most likely these feelings also aren’t new to you if you experienced yoyo dieting and repeated periods of up and down weigh-ins on the scales pre-surgery. We want to assure you however that you don’t have to spend your days plagued by these feelings of fear and frustration, by showing you how a slight shift in perception can empower you to move closer to the results that you want and avoid unnecessary worry and stress.  

We're guessing that you already know that it's highly unlikely that your surgery alone is going to be enough to get you to your ideal weight and health – it’s the starting point, the launch pad. You also probably already know that it's really important to support your surgery with actions that target your nutrition and eating habits, your movement and physical activity, your rest and stress management and most importantly with shifting your mindset to be more supportive of the results that you want, rather than the results you want to avoid. 

When it comes to taking action though, there’s a key principle we want to really emphasise - it’s about progress not perfection. 

Some people mistakenly expect their weight to consistently reduce every day, and every week, by similar amounts until they get to their goal weight, so that they can then put their focus on to maintaining their weight at that number with no variation or fluctuations. Even when people aren’t consciously aware that they expect this, on some level they become frustrated or stressed or scared when they aren’t getting those consistent and constant drops on the scale. See our blog on How To Use The Scales Effectively. Then, when their weight loss slows down or goes up a bit, maybe even just day to day fluctuations - they start to really panic. It’s the same with their habits - they think that they need to be perfect with their habits and then when they go back to an old unsupportive habit for a day or a week, they suddenly feel that they’re completely off track and that they’ve sabotaged everything. Maybe they even throw in a good dose of some critical inner self-talk along the lines of “See, I knew I’d fail”...

Does this sound familiar?

If you can relate, firstly we  want to really highlight that progress is never a perfectly straight line from where you start to your goal. It’s completely normal for weight loss, and change of any type, to happen at varying speeds, for there to be plateaus at various points and for your weight to go up sometimes, whether that’s due to your lifestyle, your hormones, your recent food and drink intake or simply because that’s what scale weight does over hours and days and weeks. It’s also completely normal to occasionally make lifestyle and health-related choices you later regret. What matters though is that you just keep taking action and focus on progress rather than perfection.

Overall, what is your trajectory over time?

Overall, are you going in the direction you want?

Overall, are you making positive changes? 

If yes, keep going! If no, consider what you might need to do differently (this may include getting expert help!), and then simply take action.

You see, perfection is a myth. It's a mirage that often leads to frustration, self-doubt, low self-esteem and ultimately, giving up on your goals. WLS is a tool that can help you on your journey, but it doesn't make you immune to setbacks or challenges. Instead of aiming for perfection, focus on progress. Celebrate the small victories, the moments when you choose a healthy meal, or take a drink of water, or take an extra step, or go to bed at a reasonable time, or follow through on your intentions, or weigh yourself and simply use whatever it says as information to help guide your next few days of choices and actions.

Progress may be slow, but it is steady and sustainable, and it always leads in the direction you want. 

So here are some suggestions to build your comfort level with noticing and valuing progress over everything else:

Acknowledge Your Journey

Your journey is unique, just as you are. Embrace it. Understand that the path to your weight goal or your desired physique isn't a straight line. There will be bumps, plateaus, and obstacles, but those are the very elements that make your story worth telling. Each detour, each setback, is an opportunity to learn and grow. Progress lies in your ability to get back up when things don't go the way you hope or expect. See our blog on Focusing On Feedback Not Failure.

Take a moment right now to reflect on the times in your journey so far when it has been a struggle or a challenge, and notice what you learned about yourself and the process in those moments, that you have been able to use to move forwards.

Set Realistic Goals

Perfection often leads to setting unrealistic, unattainable goals that leave you feeling disheartened. Instead, set achievable and realistic targets. See our blog on Time Management and Goal Setting. Celebrate them as milestones along your journey. Remember that WLS is a powerful tool, but it's your dedication and commitment to continuing to take small steps in the right direction that will make the difference. 

Are your goals and expectations of what's possible and the timeframe realistic based on the skills, tools and knowledge that you have right now?

The Power of Consistency

Progress is not a single monumental leap but a series of consistent steps forward. Keep your focus on the small daily choices that, over time, lead to remarkable results. It's the daily actions, the commitment to a healthier lifestyle, that will be the defining steps towards your goals, and this will most likely include some work on your mindset. See our blog on How To Avoid The Struggle After WLS. This may also mean getting some coaching assistance from professionals like us! 

Learning the importance of your focus and whether it's steered towards what you want rather than what you don't want, understanding the impact of your beliefs about yourself and every aspect of health on whether you'll be able to follow-through on your intentions and avoid self-sabotage, harnessing the power of your unconscious mind to conspire for your success - all of these and more are elements that will make essential differences to how you navigate your way to your desired outcome, and whether you're able to move past that point rather than getting stuck or going back in the direction you came from. Consistent, daily, weekly and monthly progress - this is the recipe for success.

In what area of health or lifestyle could you perhaps be more consistent? What might be an aspect of your mindset around yourself or health or 'success' that would benefit from some support or attention?

Embrace Self-Compassion

Perfection often goes hand-in-hand with self-criticism, and worthwhile change never comes from self-judgement or cruelty. Real, valuable and permanent transformation comes from a place of kindness and love, not hate. One of the most powerful gifts you can give to yourself (and others) is to be kind and compassionate, by remembering in as many moments as possible that you're human, and every human has their moments of vulnerability and weakness, and that those moments don't have any impact on your worth or who you are. When you stumble, practice extending compassion and forgiveness towards yourself, and in doing so you'll create space to learn, adjust, and keep moving forward.

Where can you be kinder and more compassionate with yourself? What would that look, sound and feel like... and what would that give you?

Fix The Tyre And Drive on

Remember, your journey after WLS is never going to be 'perfect'. Mistakes and slip-ups are inevitable and everyone makes them. What's important is how you respond to them. It's about simply dealing with the challenges (getting help if you need it) and carrying on towards where you want to go. It's a bit like driving a car and getting a flat tyre. When you see the flat tyre, would you slash all of the other tyres as well? No, you simply put on a spare tyre (or call for assistance) and then carry on towards your destination. 

Someone wise once said something along the lines of "The person who loves walking… will walk further than the person who loves the destination." Wherever you are on your post-WLS road, remember that valuing progress instead of perfection is a powerful way to reach your destination with your self-esteem intact and having enjoyed the path you took to get there.